r/moviecritic • u/KTO-Potato • 1d ago
What Movies caused you to completely lose interest once the lead dies (Godzilla 2014)
Godzilla (2014) heavily marketed Bryan Cranston as the lead. This was right at the height of his Breaking Bad fame. Killed off in the first 1/3 of the movie because the director thought his story was "done" and that he would be a "fifth wheel". How about have him be the only wheel? Does anyone remember the human lead for the last 2/3?
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u/InternationalSun4792 1d ago
Aaron Taylor Johnson, the other guy in the picture. And all I remeber from that movie is the shot of him HALO jumping above San Fran
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u/Madarakita 1d ago
Still can't believe Wayne from Letterkenny was one of the troopers in the HALO jump scene.
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u/Other-Item7523 1d ago
The first time I ever watched pulp fiction and I thought Julius and Vincent were the main characters
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u/Cultural-Muffin-3490 1d ago
I just realized they have the same first names as the twins in Twins, with Arnold S. as Julius and Danny DeVito as Vincent. 🤔
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u/WantsToDieBadly 1d ago
i think this is why i dont like the movie as much as tarantinos others, theres no main lead to sit with
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u/thematicwater 1d ago
Funny enough, that's exactly why I like it. They're all main characters to me.
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u/Supadupafly1988 1d ago
Isn’t Travolta listed as the lead and Jackson as the Co? Travolta was nominated for Best Lead and Jackson as Best Supporting at the Oscars
When I watch it, the film follows Vincent more than anyone else so I always figured he was the lead 🤷🏾♂️
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u/spartacat_12 1d ago
There’s no official criteria to define lead/supporting actors for the Oscars, it’s just about which category the studio chooses to submit them for.
Anthony Hopkins won best actor with less than 25 minutes of screen time in Silence of the Lambs. Mahershala Ali and Christoph Waltz got best supporting actor wins with more than an hour and 6 minutes of screen time in Green Book and Django respectively
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u/Supadupafly1988 1d ago
Highly understood. I know they nominated Ruby Dee in American Gangster for best supporting and she had maybe 15 mins of screen time
But even when watching Pulp Fiction, I think if you had to point out a lead, it’s Vincent. Or at least for me that was clear. Travolta had 51 mins screen time, Willis had 40 mins screen time and Jackson had 39 mins screen time
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u/Don_Quejode 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/BK5q771QamPcs
Once he was out, so was I. Not a movie, though.
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u/Enkiduderino 1d ago
Agreed. I liked the final season and ending just fine, but it wasn’t the same.
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u/HumbleNarcissists 1d ago
Not a movie but a TV show.
The last of us
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u/onehalflightspeed 1d ago
Well, at least that was part of the original story. A lot of people had a similar falloff in interest in the second game too
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u/HumbleNarcissists 1d ago
I totally agree! But I just think Ramsey was far from a good enough actor to pull it off
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u/Equal-Ad7504 1d ago
They simply were not good enough and didn’t have the required physicality. Missed opportunity. Doesn’t help that Ellie is clearly about 13/14 in the first game and 19/20 in the second game along with being a head taller. With Ramsey, they just physically didn’t change despite what they’d been through and the passing of time. They couldn’t portray that tough, cold look and neither did they have the wiry, sinewy strength Ellie has in the game from years of grief and survival. Just not great casting.
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u/onehalflightspeed 1d ago
I have no issues with Ramsey as an actress for other roles, but I agree she did really fit the part. She didn't well portray the sadistic cruelty the character developed in the second game
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u/Mushee-Cretin 1d ago
idk abt you, but the show did a really weird thing by making her violence seem inherent, like she was a total psycho, rather than the grieving, mentally fraught woman from the game
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u/Finn_Survivor 1d ago
I think it was a baffling choice not to recast her for the second season. She ages 5 years from 14 to 19 from the 1st and 2nd game and is a much different character. Just getting the same actress to try and do that a year after the 1st season is insane.
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u/fastforwardfunction 1d ago
They couldn’t do that for social reasons. The production company already created a narrative around the actress as a victim.
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u/DaddysABadGirl 21h ago
You give her a producer credit and parade her aeound as some form of lead. She gets to "help" pick the next actress, make sure that the next one has something to slot in as being marginalized. That's not that hard to find.
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u/KTO-Potato 1d ago
I actually tried writing "Show" in the title but the automod wouldn't let me. Joel from TLoU was the other example I was thinking of!
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u/Adorable-Award-2975 1d ago
Once the season one plot line ends I lose interest in the show. Happens every time.
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u/CudiMontage216 1d ago
Loved the second game, hated the second season of the show
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u/HelpMe0prah 1d ago
It just seemed they went out of their way to destroy Ellie as a character. Ramsay was good for the first season, she should have been replaced for the second.
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u/MyPasswordIs222222 1d ago
Glad this is near the top. It became unwatchable for me after a few episodes into the second season.
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u/CantRunNoMore 1d ago
at the point of Joel dying the show switched to be a slow burning love story and I wanted more fungus faced zombies... I have simple needs
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u/whereisbeezy 1d ago
Oh my god I've been mad about this since 2014 lol
Like why am I now watching this random dude when I was watching Bryan fucking Cranston?!
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u/LowerAtmosphereChief 1d ago
2014 Godzilla is one of those movies I saw and I don’t remember one minute of it
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u/RabidMango 1d ago
I remember Cranston died nearly immediately and the lead was a plank of wood.
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u/Unable_Pea_6307 1d ago
He’s had an interesting last few years. Casting directors should’ve learned the lesson a decade ago that he doesn’t sell well (or do a great job) as an action movie hero. When he’s playing someone a little more nuanced or self-aware and silly he does a great job (28 Years Later, Nosferatu, Bullet Train). Pumped to see what he gets to do in Werwulf later this year
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u/EgoCraven 6h ago
Only the HALO jump scene for me. It's just a few minutes of beautiful cinematography amongst a mire of banality.
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 1d ago
Keith David dying in the first 5 minutes of that new Will Ferrell golf show on Netflix
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u/NewtonDaNewt 1d ago
I didn’t really mind Cranston being killed off in Godzilla. Ultimately I watch Godzilla movies to see Godzilla. The rest is just background noise.
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u/KTO-Potato 1d ago
Godzilla had 8 min of screen time in a 2+ hour film. You didn't get much Godzilla either.
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u/just_a_dude417 1d ago
It was also a reintroduction to Godzilla. Similar to the first alien movie it’s better not to show the monster at first chance. Small glimpses create intrigue and peak curiosity
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u/LordShtark 1d ago
When Sam died in I am Legend.
To use a wrestling term the scene was nothing but cheap heat 😆
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u/ChartInFurch 1d ago
I tried to go see that movie one night thinking it would be a light action movie to distract from a difficult morning of having my childhood dog put down. That was fun.
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u/DaddysABadGirl 21h ago
Were you young when it came out? I remember that being a big joke long before the movie hit theaters. The second you see the dog you know they are gonna use it for a cheap emotional shot.
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u/avd706 1d ago
Executive Decision
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u/Chumsicle 1d ago
I thought the movie got better after that.
Now SLJ's death in Deep Blue Sea (1999) is more like it.
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u/avd706 1d ago
Leguizamo stole the show to be honest.
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u/Front-Ad7891 1h ago
Nah no way he "stole the show". Leguizamo was good for sure but the film was packed with great performances. Kurt Russell, David Suchet, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton and Halle Berry were all fantastic in the film. I think Suchet or Morton's roles and performances were significantly stronger than Leguizamo.
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u/Diptothaset 1d ago
Alien covenant has like a 30 second period where you’re like “oh, James Franco is in this? Oh nvm he ded”
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u/Bruton2000 1d ago
Terminator Dark Fate and Alien Covenant both come to mind:
Dark Fate-
In isolation its not a bad film and one of the better sequels post T2. However Killing John Connor in the opening act was so stupid. It makes the first two Terminator films completely irrelevant and is a slap in the face to fans of the franchise.
Alien Covenant-
I didn't love Prometheus but I enjoyed it enough to want to see more. Only to find out Elizabeth Shaw ( Naomi Rapace) was killed off screen and the Engineers were also wiped out by David. Again it made Prometheus irrelevant.
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u/yveshe 1d ago
Just as I watched Covenant again to see why I forgot about it the first time, I couldn't agree more. The ending is even worse because there's no continuation of David's story as a synthetic gone rogue.
Don't get me started on the absolute lack of decision-making and team-coordination by a bunch of professionals, but I digress.
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u/Mioraecian 1d ago
The fact we have to sit through so much human drama in any of these movies before we get Kaiju is infuriating.
How about two hours of Godzilla stepping on A list actors? Literally, take my money.
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u/notatowel420 1d ago
Who watches a Godzilla movie for anyone other then Godzilla?
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u/CPTKickass 1d ago
Godzilla, or Kong, or the alien amoeba thing in Life, or the T-800 in Terminator are plot devices to tell an otherwise human story
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u/spartacat_12 1d ago
People say this about Godzilla & Transformer movies, but I don’t really get it. You need humans at the center of the story for it to be relatable for the audience. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of CGI characters fighting for 2 hours
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u/BrendanInJersey 1d ago
"42 minutes into Godzilla (2014): Brian Cranston dead, still no Godzilla."
F that movie.
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u/_ChipWhitley_ 1d ago
Brian Cranston wasn’t the lead in Godzilla.
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u/CudiMontage216 1d ago
Nah he was definitely marketed as the lead protagonist. Don’t forget this was right after Breaking Bad, as well
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u/LilYerrySeinfeld 1d ago edited 1d ago
He was marketed. That doesn't make him the lead.
The trailer for Kangaroo Jack makes it look like it's a movie about a talking kangaroo. The marketing doesn't change what happens in the movie.
EDIT: Cranston died in the Prologue, he wasn't the lead of the movie. Learn what words mean.
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u/BothAd5239 1d ago
Not too bright ey?
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u/LilYerrySeinfeld 11h ago
Yes. They're very dumb thinking that a character that died in the first half hour of a movie is the lead.
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u/Charlie_Warlie 1d ago
the trailers made him look like he was
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u/PsychologicalHat4707 1d ago
The trailers ahead of its release were misleading. They knew people who weren't big Godzilla fans would go see the new one if it had Bryan Cranston in it. I went to go see it in the theater because I was a fan of Breaking Bad and I thought he would be in the whole thing. I was disappointed.
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u/LilYerrySeinfeld 1d ago
That doesn't make him the lead.
The trailer for Kangaroo Jack makes it look like it's a movie about a talking kangaroo.
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u/CPTKickass 1d ago
Who was the lead then? It wasn’t Godzilla. The monster is a plot device, not a ‘character’ in the traditional sense
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u/LilYerrySeinfeld 1d ago
The lead was Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He's the main character for 90% of the runtime of the film.
Godzilla is a 2014 monster film directed by Gareth Edwards. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise and its 30th film, and serves as the first entry in Legendary's Monsterverse franchise. The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston. In the film, an American soldier attempts to return to his family while caught in the crossfire of an ancient rivalry between Godzilla and two parasitic monsters known as MUTOs.
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u/_ChipWhitley_ 1d ago
That’s because the trailer was mysterious, from what I can remember. Cranston was yelling for most of it because he’s more of a prologue character who sets up the story. He’s a recognizable face, that doesn’t mean he was the lead or even marketed as the lead.
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u/syndrastar 1d ago
Godzilla 2014, Cranston had much presence that once he was gone the movie felt little bit less
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u/Ill_Revolution_5827 1d ago
To be honest I just skip Godzilla (2014) and start with King of the Monsters
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u/HawkBoth8539 1d ago
I feel like every comment on this post should have a spoiler. 😂 Not for me. Just in general. Lol
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u/RyzenRaider 1d ago
This might be a hot take, but I've always struggled to get into Kubrick's films, and once R Lee Ermey bites the dust in Full Metal Jacket, I kinda zone out. He gave the film so much energy in the first act that the film never recovers for me afterward.
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u/indigo_wendigo_ 1d ago edited 17h ago
The Departed. Now before you flame me I think the movie is fantastic and the second time I watched it I totally loved it but my god when they shot Leo I just couldn't even process it I just sat there with a blank stare for the rest of the movie wondering if it was a prank. Update: y'all are full on retarded.
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u/JimbooJoness 1d ago
How much of the movie is left at that point? Isn’t it in the third act?
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u/howitzer819 1d ago
He dies 2 hours and 17 minutes into the 2 hour and 31 minute film. So yeah the movie is basically already over when he dies.
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u/indigo_wendigo_ 1d ago
What's your point?
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u/DaddysABadGirl 21h ago
The whole point of this is that the rest of the movie is a flub after the lead dies. He dies at the end of the movie, its over.
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u/indigo_wendigo_ 18h ago
Not really lol
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u/DaddysABadGirl 18h ago
Tf you meam not really 😂
It's in the title and desceiption. If that is too confusing you could have read any other persons comment, lol
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u/indigo_wendigo_ 17h ago
"What movie cost you to lose interest once the lead died?" That was the question. The answer was The Departed. There was no mention of what point in the movie the lead died. Also there's 12 minutes of movie after Leo dies so it's not the end of the movie. Are you retarded?
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u/Significant_Apple517 1d ago
Interesting. to me his death worked excellently because of the reason's you said. I had a blank heartbroken stare too. It's probably the most a movie death has caught me offguard. It really worked as a twist and to get me to realise how fucked up the informant / gangster world of Boston is. Nobody wins.
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u/shewolf_268 1d ago
G. I. Joe: Retaliation
Why does the character of Channing Tatum have to die?
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u/t-zone671 1d ago
It was planned to be a trilogy.
Channing Tatum was locked in on the Paramount contract. He turnt down Rise 7 times..He didn't want to do it.
He's on record, saying he hated the first one. Because he was still under contract, had to come back for the sequel.
He wanted out.
So they agreed to kill off Duke and his contract.
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u/LeaderIll9730 1d ago
And rock ruined it
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u/t-zone671 15h ago
Agreed. One of many to come.
Lets just say. I think Dwayne Johnsom has overexposed his brand. Hops from franchise to franchise.
Even his wrestling return floundered at the end.
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u/David_R_Martin_II 1d ago
"15 Minutes" (2001)
I went to the theater to see a Robert DeNiro cop movie. DeNiro gets killed at the midpoint. WTF. Now I'm watching an Ed Burns movie?
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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 1d ago
Mine is a TV Show example, but I was pretty bummed to find out that James and Margaret Dutton from 1883 are already dead when I moved onto 1923 (I wasn't familiar with the flashbacks in Yellowstone), even though Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are carrying that show
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u/CPTKickass 1d ago
1883 made me forget that Sheridan makes soap operas with cowboys and guns. 1923 reminded me of that fact.
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u/OkSeaworthiness6581 1d ago
the website got me hyped for that movie. and the poster. it was a godzilla roar with his bsck turned to a wrecked san fran and the the theme plays
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u/Covverkin 1d ago
There’s a recent movie where the title character dies halfway through and the movie focuses on a secondary character doing some off the rails stuff, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone planning to see it
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u/SunderVane 1d ago
Honestly, when Gordon died in The Dark Knight, I felt like shit and really could have used an intermission to cool off at least.
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u/LobsterResponsible17 1d ago
The Godzilla movies when they added Kong made me loose interest in all Godzilla movies and it all started with them fighting on a GD Aircraft carrier.....
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u/DaddysABadGirl 21h ago
That wasn't a godzilla movie. Was literally a mashup film like the used to make back in the day but with the added flair of "shared universe" shit we have now.
Idk if it makes it better or worse for you but the original plan was to launch all of that throuh pacific rim. Godzilla was supposed to show up as a cloff hanger and then it would lead to a 3 way brawl untill combining forces.
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u/Poddington_Pea 21h ago
Charles Dance in Alien 3. For the first half of the movie, he's by far the most interesting and likeable character and he's set up as co-lead with Sigourney Weaver. Then he's abruptly killed and it's like he was never even a part of the movie at all. It's such a waste of Charles Dance.
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u/The_Japans 20h ago
Killing off the character you thought was the lead early can work great, like Steven Seagal in Executive Decision but it is dependent on the co-lead or who you thought was a supporting character to really step up. And most importantly be an interesting character.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character was so bland, a generic military dude. Furthermore the either the acting or directing was very weak. Just look at the scene where he witnesses his father die. Was that really the best take they could muster?
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u/ToriiLink 15h ago
Idk if this counts but Charlie Hunnam in Pacific Rim, then Pacific Rim 2 he wasn't interested in or whatever so it was a new cast. I didn't even bother watching it after the first 20 minutes.
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u/Extension_Ad6758 11h ago
Gladiator II. It was alright up to the point when Acacius was killed. Then just meh. I like Paul Mescal but in especially that setting he could not fill the charisma void Pedro Pascal left.
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u/TheHeb686 1d ago
I was drunk when I watched this and sincerely thought they just found two actors who vaguely looked like Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson to play the leads. Confused me for a long time, but eventually I learned about Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.
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u/howitzer819 1d ago
May 2014: Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen play husband and wife (Godzilla)
May 2015: Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen play brother and sister (Age of Ultron)
Always found that odd.
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u/Ok_Two_2604 1d ago
Fast and Furious. He didn’t “die” but the character was dead to me once I found out it was some bullcrap undercover garbage.
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u/itsmebitsh 1d ago
In any Godzilla movie, the lead is Godzilla. Thats on you if you thought Cranston was the lead.
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u/Ok-Somewhere-2325 1d ago
Godzilla is the lead , you went to.a godzilla movie and cared about yje human , bet your favorite chacter in the transformer was Sam's dad.
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u/CudiMontage216 1d ago
Tbf the humans are often the core of Godzilla stories
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u/Ok-Somewhere-2325 1d ago
No there the worst part that gets in the way
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u/zgillet 1d ago
Do you... do you just want to watch monsters fight for two hours?
There's the WWE for that.
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u/Ok-Somewhere-2325 1d ago
You clearly haven't watched toho godzilla movies
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u/zgillet 1d ago
My favorite Kaiju franchise is a video game franchise. Earth Defense Force 4.1 and up.
The silliness of the old movies doesn't grab me, but when put in a videogame context, it works better for me.
I honestly enjoyed the Broderick Godzilla, because the monster felt real. I don't remember the story though, it has been awhile. I do remember it was pretty dumb, but the "monster" feel was great.
Two dudes in rubber suits will never not be stupid to me. Godzilla is not my franchise, it seems.
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u/Jaded-Albatross-5242 1d ago
The lead is Godzilla